Knowledge and knowledge sharing in retail internationalization: IKEA's entry into Russia

Abstract

Research on retail internationalization and internationalization in general acknowledges the relevance of knowledge management and organizational learning, even though there is a lack of discussion about the specific constructs and approaches that would be most fruitful. The central role of knowledge sharing in the internationalization process is rarely stressed. Furthermore, the specificities of retailing are likely to require special considerations if we are to be able to develop a theoretical as well as a practical understanding of knowledge and knowledge sharing in the internationalization process. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to develop a tentative approach to knowledge and knowledge sharing in international retailing based upon previous literature about knowledge sharing and the internationalization process and a case study of IKEA's entry into the Russian market.

Key Words:

• Retail
• internationalization
• knowledge
• knowledge sharing
• IKEA
• Russia

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the following: Handelsbanken's research foundations for funding this study; the staff of IKEA in Russia and Sweden for their help and contributions; Professor Steve Burt and Professor John Dawson for valuable comments.